In the field of electronics it is well known that component characteristics can vary with temperature. When investigating the behavior of an electrical circuit, the interaction of temperature-related variability of components can become very complex. For example, a circuit that functions predictably at one temperature may become unpredictable at a different temperature.
Referring to the example circuit 10 of FIG. 1, various components of different types are included in the circuit 10, such as components shown at 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20. The behavior of any individual component at a first temperature may change at a second temperature. When investigating function, and particularly, failure, of a circuit such as that shown at 10, changes to one component 12 may be opposite of changes of another component 14, creating complex interactions. If the circuit 10 is not operating as expected, the complexity of temperature interactions in the circuit 10 may quickly render analysis quite difficult in the face of an unknown failure mode.
A typical manner of observing temperature effects on circuit operation is shown by FIG. 2. An oven 30 is used to control the temperature on circuit board 32. The circuit board 32 is placed in a chamber 34 having a controlled environment. Typical controls include dwell time 36 and temperature 38, as well as humidity (not shown). Probes may be placed on the circuit board 32 to observe voltages on traces or across components. Because the entire circuit board 32 is subjected to a single environmental condition, however, the complex interaction of parts and their changes in response to temperature is not fully observable.
Improved and alternative devices and methods for manipulating temperature control in circuit analysis are desired.